When the Moon Was Full
When the Moon Was Full | |
---|---|
Directed by | Narges Abyar |
Written by | Narges Abyar Morteza Esfahani |
Produced by | Mohamad-hossein Ghasemi |
Starring | Elnaz Shakerdoost Hootan Shakiba |
Cinematography | Saman Lotfian |
Edited by | Hamid Najafi Rad |
Music by | Masoud Sekhavatdoost |
Distributed by | Noore Taban |
Release date |
|
Running time | 140 minutes |
Country | Iran |
Language | Persian |
When the Moon Was Full (
Plot
The film tells the story of Abdolhamid Rigi and Faezeh Mansuri, who meet when Abdolhamid is working in a store at a bazaar in Zahedan where Faezeh and her mother are customers.[3] Abdolhamid is the younger brother of Abdolmalek Rigi, the leader of the Jundallah (Soldiers of God) terrorist group who spread terror in southeastern Iran while supported by Taliban.[4][3] Abdolhamid marries Faezeh and forces her to move to Pakistan, along with her brother Shahab.[5][4] Faezeh and Shahab become caught up in the activities of Jundallah.[5][4]
Faezeh's family discovers she has been taken captive by Jundallah in Pakistan.
In 2010, Abdolmalek is traveling to Bishkek from Dubai on a regular Airbus plane[2] when an Iranian intelligence officer forces the plane to land in Iran, leading to the arrest of both Rigi brothers and, after a court finds them guilty of dozens of criminal acts, their execution the same year.[2][4] At the time, Iranian officials accused the U.S. and some Arab countries of funding Abdolmalek Rigi's activities.[2] The unnamed officers who arrested the Rigi brothers tell the Iranian media that Abdolmalek had been on his way to a meeting with diplomat Richard Holbrooke near Bishkek.[2]
Cast
- Elnaz Shakerdoost as Faezah Mansuri
- Houtan Shakiba as Abdolhamid Rigi
- Armin Rahimian as Abdolmalek Rigi
- Fereshteh Sadre Orafaee as the mother of the Rigi brothers[2]
- Pedram Sharifi as Shahab, the brother of Faezah
- Shabnam Moghadami as Faezeh and Shahab mother
Production
Abyar traveled to related areas to collect information about the Rigi brothers and their ethnic group, the Rigi.[4] She presented Abdolmalek Rigi as a member of the Rigi ethnic group which has a background in the armed conflict in Sistan and Baluchestan.[4] In a press conference at the 37th Fajr International Film Festival, Abyar called the Rigi ethnic group "a respectable tribe" and said: "They wanted a film made to differentiate them from the Rigi brothers".[4]
Producer Mahmoud Razavi posted on Instagram: "I was interested in producing a television series about Abdolmalek Rigi a few years ago. I prepared a proposal and I gave it to a famous director of Iranian cinema. But he finally said to me, 'Dear Mahmoud, I love my life; they will kill me'".[2]
Reception
Critical response
Parviz Jahed, a freelance film critic and filmmaker, wrote: "The film has been given a particular face by Narges Abyar and she will find a special place among women in the Iranian cinema, because she worked on a rare subject that the female filmmakers in Iran are loath to act on, and that is terrorism".
Journalist and screenwriter Keyvan Kasirian said, "The new film of Narges Abyar is a romance in the face of extreme violence. Abyar's film has useful details, it transmits information on time, and despite its long history, it has a good rhythm and is not boring".[3] Film critic Fariba Oshowi stated, "Narges Abyar, as in many of her past films, has been dreaming of a fairy tale of women in her country".[3]
Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter, who attended the Fajr International Film Festival,[7] called the film "chilling, operatic storytelling".[8] She writes: "It's not a perfect film – characters' viewpoints shift like the sands, undercutting the build-up of suspense, and even the two-hour-plus running time is too short to do justice to the Al-Qaeda scenes. But what is lacking in depth is made up for in the passionate directness of the filmmaking".[8]
Awards
When the Moon Was Full won the
After receiving the Crystal Simorgh awards, Abyar said: "I was never nominated for any award in my country and it made me sad. But now I won the Simorgh and this is really valuable to me".[5] Producer Mohammad-Hossein Qasemi, Abyar's husband, donated his award to Azam Mohsendoost, the real-life mother of Faezeh and Shahab.[5]
References
- ^ a b "Iran's Fajr Film Festival: 'The Night Moon Was Full' Rakes In Awards". tasnimnews.com. tasnimnews. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Faghihi, Rohollah (21 February 2019). "True stories of terror stun critics at Iranian film festival". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
- ^ a b c d e "نقد و بررسی کامل فیلم "شبی که ماه کامل شد"". shomanews.com/. Shoma News. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Fajr festival movie recounts true love story of rebel Rigi". irannewsdaily.com. Iran News Daily. 5 February 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Narges Abyar's Terror Love Story Wins Iran Fajr Film Fest". Al Bawaba. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ Sheikhi, Marjohn (12 February 2019). "Abyar's 'Night of the Full Moon' rakes in Iran's major cinematic awards". en.mehrnews.com. Mehrnews. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
- ^ "تمجید منتقد مشهور آمریکایی از فیلم "شبی که ماه کامل شد" و الناز شاکردوست". mashreghnews.ir. mashreghnews. 5 May 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
- ^ a b Young, Deborah (30 April 2019). "'When the Moon Was Full' ('Shabi Ke Maah Kamel Shod'): Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
- ^ "'When the Moon Was Full' named best film at 37th Fajr festival". tehrantimes.com. tehrantimes. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
- ^ "Iran's Fajr Film Festival: 'The Night Moon Was Full' Rakes In Awards". english.khabaronline.ir. english.khabaronline. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
External links
- When the Moon Was Full at IMDb